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The union representing Port Hueneme's police officers has sued the city, seeking a court order requiring the city to stop collecting Social Security and Medicare taxes.

In Port Hueneme, retiring officers receive both a state pension and federal Social Security payment. It's the only public safety agency in the county where an officer gets both and means a retiree could make more in retirement than while employed.

Starting in June 2016, officers began paying the entire employee portion of their Social Security and Medicare taxes, which previously had been paid by the city. The city still pays the employer share.

The Port Hueneme Police Officers Association agreed to pay their share, 6.2 percent for Social Security and 1.45 percent for Medicare, "until such time as the city has a balanced general fund budget without utilization of reserves or the savings derived from city employees paying the employee Social Security and Medicare taxes," according to the lawsuit, which was filed Aug. 30 in Ventura County Superior Court.

That happened in July 2016, the month after the union's contract expired, the suit alleges. At that time, the city "predicted a hefty surplus of funds," it says. The contract covered July 1, 2015, to June 30, 2016.

Attorney Michael McGill, who is representing the union, did not respond to calls for comment.

Port Hueneme City Manager Rod Butler disagrees with the lawsuit's assessment of the city's finances. The city received a one-time reimbursement of $750,000 for damage to the pier, he said. "That had the effect of making it look like the general fund was balanced, but it was not balanced on an ongoing, annual basis," Butler said.

Police union President Baltazar Tapia did not return emails seeking comment for this story, but he spoke during the public comment portion of the Aug. 7 City Council meeting.

He noted that the union is paying 6 percent of the 9 percent employee portion required under California Public Employees' Retirement System, CalPERS.

"Needless to say we're disappointed because we continue to serve our community, and we would hope that our community and our community leaders would serve us as well by taking care of us," Tapia said.

Tapia said the city claimed a budget deficit for several years "yet other than employee concessions the city has not proposed or drafted solutions that have cleaned that structured deficit."

He said he hopes to see some kind of a tax in the future. He questioned why management seemed to be getting raises if the economic outlook were so bad.

Port Hueneme is considering placing a sales tax measure on the 2018 ballot. If it's a general fund measure, as the city is considering, the money can be used toward any city expense. The biggest increase for many cities in the years to come will be pension costs, and Port Hueneme is no exception.

Port Hueneme’s pension costs are expected to climb from $2.5 million this year to $4.8 million in five years, according to CalPERS actuarial reports and a city consultant.

Butler said if the city and union can't come to a resolution on terms for a new contract, the sides will likely be required to enter into mediation. For now, the union is still operating under the terms of the old contract, he said.